*Sniff…*
"Bad-guy brother?"
Still sniffling, eyes rimmed red, little Sasuke looked up at Yun, confusion and hurt crowding his small face. "Bad-guy brother, why don't I have a dad? Where is my dad?"
'Bad guy?'
Yun rubbed his temple. 'Well… fair. I'm not exactly a saint.'
He scratched the back of his head, gaze drifting briefly toward the Memorial Stone in the distance. 'And where's Itachi during all this? Didn't he used to dote on this kid? Busy… on a date? No way, right?'
Yun crouched so his eyes were level with Sasuke's. "Come on," he said gently. "Let me take you somewhere."
He took the boy's hand. Together they walked in silence, the village sounds thinning into the hush of the copse surrounding the Memorial Stone. When they arrived at the Uchiha section of graves, Yun led Sasuke to a particular marker—clean, austere, and already dusted by fallen leaves.
Uchiha Fugaku.
Yun brushed the leaves aside with the side of his hand and asked, soft but steady, "Your brother and your mother… they haven't brought you here recently?"
Little Sasuke sniffed, nodding once. "I came before, but…"
Yun ruffled his hair, the gesture firm and secure. "But now you're wondering why Naruto's dad is the Hokage, while your dad… is here."
Sasuke's small hands tightened at his sides. He nodded, eyes glistening again.
Yun exhaled slowly, then bent to sweep away the rest of the leaves, exposing the stone as if unveiling a name from sleep. He lifted his chin toward the distant cliffside where the great visages watched over the village.
"Do you know," he asked, "where the people as great as the Hokage are remembered in this village?"
Sasuke shook his head with solemn sincerity.
Yun looked around them, at the stones and their quiet order, at the shadows of trees crossing names that would never speak again. "Here," he said. "The ones whose names are inscribed here are as great as any Hokage—because everyone here died protecting Konoha."
Sasuke blinked, trying to grasp the shape of words bigger than his world. The logic flowed in circles, but the weight of it felt true.
Yun rested two fingers against the stone. "Your father was captain of the Konoha Police Force and head of the Uchiha clan. His ninjutsu, his discipline, his judgment—they were stronger than mine, stronger than Itachi's." he said evenly. "That's not praise. It's fact."
"Really?" Sasuke's voice was tiny, tentative, but hopeful.
"Really." Yun said. "Without the people named on this stone, there is no Konoha. And if there's no Konoha… there's no Hokage to protect it, either." He glanced down with a faint smile. "Next time Naruto says, 'My dad is the Hokage', you can answer him with that. You won't be wrong."
Sasuke stood very still, lips moving as he tried to stitch the thought together: 'Without the heroes… no village. Without the village… no Hokage'. He didn't understand every corner of it, but the center felt solid. It sounded strong. It sounded like something his father would have said without a smile.
He hiccupped, wiped his nose with the back of his hand, and the crying ebbed.
Yun squeezed his shoulder, then, almost absently, turned his gaze to another tablet not far away—another name burned into his memory. Obito.
'Names that carry the village forward.' Yun thought. 'Whether their stories are told or silenced.' He took Sasuke's hand. "Let's head back."
…
Back at the Uchiha compound, Yun slowed at the threshold. The courtyard was unusually lively.
At the entrance, the Fourth Hokage—Namikaze Minato—stood with a careful, apologetic air, watching Kushina out of the corner of his eye. Kushina, meanwhile, had Naruto by the ear and was delivering a mother's uncompromising fury.
"How could you say something so hurtful to Sasuke!" she scolded, twisting lightly for emphasis. "You are going to wait until he comes back and apologize properly, you hear me?"
Minato offered a meek, peacekeeping smile.
Kushina whirled on him. "Busy, busy, busy! You're busy every day! Maybe try disciplining your son once in a while? No manners, no sense! If he talks like that, who'll want to be his friend? Just because his dad is the Hokage?"
"Mom! I was wrong—I was really wrong!" Naruto flailed, face pale, feet dancing to escape the pinch.
The door slid open, and Uchiha Mikoto stepped into the frame, startled into stillness by the scene. "What… what's going on?"
Seeing Naruto's pinched ear, Mikoto reached over with gentle hands and unhooked Kushina's grip. She drew the boy into her arms with a practiced, maternal ease. "Let's talk it out." she said warmly. "They're children. Did he say something truly terrible?"
Kushina's nostrils flared, but she kept her hands to herself now. Minato scratched his head sheepishly, caught between diplomacy and domestic defeat.
Yun arrived with little Sasuke, paused in the threshold just long enough to weigh the eyes on him, then said, "Aunt Mikoto, let's continue inside. It's not a great look out here."
Mikoto blinked—and then nodded, reminded of courtesy and of neighbors' eyes. She ushered everyone in.
They took their seats in the front room—Mikoto poised and calm, Kushina still bristling, Minato apologetic, Naruto chastened, Sasuke cool and stiff at the shoulders, Yun quietly observant beside him.
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, then tried a brave, wobbly smile. He reached for Sasuke's hand, tentative.
Sasuke dodged, expression frosty.
"I'm sorry… Sasuke." Naruto said, voice small but sincere.
Sasuke cut him a sidelong glare. As their eyes met, Naruto pushed his luck and reached again. This time Sasuke failed to evade.
"We're friends again!" Naruto announced, hopeful and way too loud.
"Hmph."
Sasuke pulled his hand back, set his stance, and—clearly trying his best to recall Yun's dignified phrasing—declared, "Without the sacrifices… of the Memorial Stone… there would be no Konoha! Let alone… the Hokage!"
He planted his fists on his hips, chin up, proud and fierce despite the lingering dampness of tears. "Your dad is the Hokage. But my dad is a hero on the Memorial Stone! Without my dad, there's no village! And without the village, what kind of Hokage can your dad even be? Hmph!"
Silence rippled through the room.
Mikoto stared at Sasuke, stunned, then turned—almost instinctively—toward Minato, worry flickering across her features. The proud phrasing had come out like a challenge, and the Fourth Hokage stood right there.
Sasuke's fierce posture wilted by a fraction.
*Clap, clap, clap…*
Minato smiled and applauded lightly. "Sasuke is absolutely right." he said, sincerity shining through the ease in his tone. "Without the heroes whose names are on the Memorial Stone, there would be no Konoha. And without the village, there is no Hokage."
The tension dissolved. Minato's face grew solemn. He turned fully toward Naruto. "I always thought you were too young to understand, Naruto. But what you said today… that tells me I need to re-evaluate how we teach you." His voice steadied. "Being Hokage isn't a privilege. It's a responsibility."
"Only those who earn the village's recognition can become Hokage. And the Hokage's duty is to protect the village—every single person in it."
Minato rose and bowed, deeply, to Mikoto and to Sasuke. "I apologize again. Fugaku-san's death is tied to my family. I'm sorry."
Kushina swallowed, the anger in her expression softening into shame. She pulled Naruto to stand beside Minato. They bowed together. "Because I didn't teach him better, he said something so cruel. I'm truly sorry."
Mikoto froze for a heartbeat, overwhelmed by the sight of the Hokage and his family bowing in her home. Then she moved quickly—lifting Kushina first, then motioning Minato upright with gentle insistence. "Fugaku died for the village." she said, voice clear and proud. "I've always been proud of him. Children bicker; this doesn't need such heavy apologies."
She looped her arm around Kushina's shoulders and tugged her back down to sit. "It's been so long since we sat like this. Remember before, when—"
Kushina huffed a laugh and squeezed her. "We were as good as sisters then, we still are, and we always will be."
She glanced at the boys, mischief easing back into her eyes. "Shame these two aren't a boy and a girl, or we'd be planning the wedding by now."
Naruto and Sasuke snapped to attention, eyes wide as kunai, and in perfect sync scooted a safe distance from each other across the tatami.
Yun watched the moment from the edge of the room—the ease returning, the warmth reforming its old lines, the fissures sealing with humor and grace. The families were laughing again, the sharp edges blunted by shared history.
He felt suddenly like a shadow at midday. A third wheel.
He stood. "I'll head out." he said lightly. "Looks like everything's settled."
Minato noticed at once and rose as well, patting Naruto's head and giving Sasuke a friendly nod. The Hokage's eyes held a quiet gratitude when they met Yun's. There were still endless duties calling his name.
Kushina waved them off with a snort, half fond, half exasperated. "Go, go. Hokage-sama—always a busy man."
Minato's smile turned sheepish. He flashed the two boys a thumbs-up—an awkward little spark of cheer—then stepped out with Yun into the afternoon light.
*****
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I am working on the following projects:
✓ Killed For 100 Years in Hueco Mundo, Aizen Invited Me To Soul Society!
✓ Naruto: Senmei Asahi
✓ Naruto: Uchiha's Intelligence Dealer
✓ Naruto: The Fifth Hokage Is Naruto's Uncle
✓ Naruto: Who Made Him a Ninja?
✓ Bleach: In My Second Reincarnation, I Became The Ninth Kenpachi
✓ To Love-Ru: Spoiler Route [R-18]
✓ Naruto: The Accidental Incubus [R-18]
✓ The Academy's Saint Is Too Popular, But He's Not the Protagonist [R-18]